Local inventory ads are a variation of Google Shopping Ad. They show products from your nearest physical store to mobile device users. Currently this feature is available just for retailers in US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, and Australia. If your country is not listed, you can contact Google from this form.
How does a Google Inventory ad look like?
The ad will appear on the of the search results on a line with other similar products by advertisers. When a visitor clicks on the ad it will open into a local storefront. It would show just an image of your product, a price and your nearest store they can buy it from.
How to create a Google Inventory ad?
Start by choosing a google shopping campaign from the drop-down menu of Google AdWords. You must have a Google Merchant account where you upload all your products. This account must be linked to Google AdWords for you to create any shopping ads.
Then choose advanced settings and tick the box next to Add Google Inventory ads. In this way, you will show on both:
- Local inventory ads:ads that show users what products are available at a nearby location
- Multichannel Shopping ads:ads that give users the option to buy online or view product availability at a nearby location
Then depending on the availability of your product Google will show different ad to users depending on their device.
For products you sell online only, your ad will show on desktop and mobile as standard Google shopping ad. Products you sell only in store will show both on desktops, but on mobile they will be only show as Google Inventory ads. If you sell both online and in store, your ad will show as a standard shopping ad on desktop and as an Inventory ad on mobile. In this way, Google will always encourage people in the proximity of your store to walk in and purchase, if this product is listed as available in the physical store.
In any case, you should include a buy online link on your store front, to make sure people have a chance to order online through the Inventory ad as well. Keep your local feeds updated by refreshing your Local Products Feed at least once a week and your Product Inventory Feed at least once a day.
How to structure your campaigns?
First divide the products in three groups: sold only online, sold only in store and sold on both channels. If you see certain product sells well both in store and online, you can create separate this product in its own product group and bid higher.
Bid Adjustments
You can use location bid adjustment to bid more aggressively when users are in the proximity of your brick and mortar store. You can do this by adding a location extension with your address and making a bid adjustment for this location. You can also schedule your ads and increase bids during office hours.
Catching customers’ attention while they are on their way is an important part of a successful digital marketing strategy. The more accurate to the customer needs your ad is, the better chances you have to get a sale.
